Twister

Tholymis tillarga · Order: Odonata · Family: Libellulidae

Also called: Foggy-winged Twister, Old World Twister

No source yet on danger. We have no source yet on whether it bites, stings or damages anything.
Twister
Photo: Ankur Nandi, CC BY

The Twister dragonfly is medium-sized with reddish eyes, a yellow-red thorax and a coral-red abdomen. It lives in humid tropical regions, breeding in weedy ponds, swamps and lakes, and is most active at dawn, dusk and on cloudy days.

Source: Wikipedia

How to recognize it

Its wings are clear, but the hind wings have a golden-brown patch at the base edged with a cloudy-white patch; females lack the cloudy-white patch and are brown.

Source: Wikipedia

Size

It is a medium-sized dragonfly.

Source: Wikipedia

Where it lives

It is a migrant that stays in humid tropical areas and breeds in standing water such as weedy ponds, swamps and lakes.

Source: Wikipedia

When you see it

It is active at dawn, dusk and on cloudy days.

Source: Wikipedia

Where it comes from

Its range extends from tropical West Africa across Asia to Australia and the Pacific Islands.

Source: Wikipedia

More photos

Twister photo 3
Photo: Gerard Chartier, CC BY

Same family (Libellulidae)

Blue DasherBlue DasherPachydiplax longipennisEastern PondhawkEastern PondhawkErythemis simplicicollisCommon WhitetailCommon WhitetailPlathemis lydiaWidow SkimmerWidow SkimmerLibellula luctuosaAutumn MeadowhawkAutumn MeadowhawkSympetrum vicinumCommon DarterCommon DarterSympetrum striolatum

Sources

  • Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tholymis_tillarga

Look it up elsewhere: GBIF · iNaturalist · BugGuide · Wikipedia

Text written 2026-10-22 from the sources above and checked sentence by sentence against them. Data fetched 2026-10-22.

How this page works

This is one bug's fact sheet. The colored box at the top says whether it is dangerous. Sections below cover how to recognize it, whether it is a pest, and how to deal with it. The US map shows which states have records; tap a state to see other bugs there.

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